Feijóo: “My personal opinion is irrelevant.”

Barcelona. Second day of the annual meeting of the Cercle d'Economia. The highlight is the speech by the president of the People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo. The audience eagerly speculates about the direction the Galician politician will take in responding to the unexpected question launched the day before by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez against BBVA's "hostile takeover bid" for Sabadell. This issue has disrupted the economic and political fabric of Catalonia and other Spanish territories affected by the banking merger it represents for a year.

Feijóo is the leader of Spain's largest opposition party, and his opinion on the matter is considered highly relevant. Both because of his current role—he is the leading group in Congress—and because of his real chances of governing in the relatively distant future.

Last year, in this very forum, almost a year ago, when asked about the matter, he declared: "I say what my party in Catalonia says: we don't like it," and that to launch a takeover bid for a bank that works with thousands of companies and is doing well, the bidder must "have very compelling reasons."

Naturally, Feijóo began by harshly criticizing Sánchez for pulling a referendum out of a hat that had never been proposed before for a process of this nature. While many of those present certainly viewed the referendum as a problematic concoction and, from that perspective, understood the PP leader's position, the majority considered it a secondary issue compared to the main and urgent matter of ensuring the independent existence of Sabadell.

Feijóo seemed not to notice that he was the leader of the opposition.

So far, so good. But when it came to defining the operation itself, Feijóo was even more terse than at the previous Cecle meeting: "I like banking competition," in the abstract. However, yesterday the discussion was concrete, about an ongoing takeover bid by the bank chaired by Carlos Torres for the one headed by Josep Oliu. One of Basque origin and the other with a recently reopened headquarters in Sabadell.

The Popular Party leader must have been aware that such a subtle commitment would not be enough to leave an acceptable mark, adding that in this matter, which has mobilized business leaders, associations, unions, and professional associations, his "personal opinion is irrelevant."

Feijóo, let's remember again, is the leader of the opposition and occupied the podium in the Congress Palace auditorium in that capacity, not like a simple citizen who can answer, doesn't know, or doesn't answer to a pollster. Why is it irrelevant? Why doesn't it merit his involvement? Why is it too complex? Is he against the takeover bid, but since that also seems to be the position of the illegitimate Prime Minister, he doesn't want to share any of his views?

The audience's disappointment was palpable. They didn't understand anything. The president of the Cercle, Jaume Guardiola, had no choice but to ask again: "What does that mean? Do you think it causes serious competition problems?" He couldn't get anything more concrete. And the audience had to console themselves with their own speculations to try to clarify the PP's real position in this economic battle, which has hardly been preceded in Spanish economic history.

The audience had to think on their own to deduce what their opinion was.

Galicianism, understood as the ability to conceal whether one is ascending or descending the ladder, reached exceptional heights yesterday. Possibly only surpassed by the dialogue between two consummate masters of the genre, former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the Cercle Antón Costas, during the May 2014 events, in the midst of the volcano of the independence process.